Reviewed by USGSTurkey88y ago
M5.9 earthquake 8 km SSW of Başçiftlik, Turkey
Thursday, December 28, 1939, 03:25:26 UTC · 40.469°N, 37.144°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 8 km SSW of Başçiftlik, Turkey on Thursday, December 28, 1939, 03:25:26 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 26, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
10 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on January 4, 1940. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 27 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 217 km E of this epicenter
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 33 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 288 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 294 km W of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 215 km W of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 81 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 84 km E of this epicenter
- 5.917 km NNE of Tosya, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 268 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 38,917 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 217 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 218 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 261 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1835
Turkey
23 Aug 1835 · 260 km away · intensity X
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 294 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1844
Osmancik, Ankara
12 May 1844 · 206 km away · intensity IX
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.